I am an old soul.
As a child, one of my favorite places to be was in the rose garden of Rabbi and Mrs. Horowitz. Mrs. Horowitz let me spend my time daydreaming among the roses, and always had an empty vase ready to for me to fill. I think secretly, she knew scissors and a vase were safer for her garden than a precocious child picking flowers haphazardly. There was always a story to accompany the different roses she grew. My interest in flowers definitely grew in that wonderful rose garden.
Even as a child, I knew her garden was different. I couldn’t explain it. She valued and nurtured things that other adults didn’t. She took time to nurture my interests, and answer all of my many questions about flower life. Everything she grew was unique……she was unique. Even our friendship, a young child and an elderly Jewish woman, was unique.
Somehow, she created a magical world that set my imagination free.
Mrs. Horowitz and her roses are never far from my mind. I have my own rose garden now. In fact, I have many gardens at the Agape Haus Music Studio. I am a violinist by trade, but I plant flowers for all of my day – dreaming students. In between lessons, we stroll outside and watch butterflies, smell flowers, feed chickens and gaze at all the natural beauty…..
Every time I see the wonder of a child, I know a new ‘old soul’ has been born in that connection to nature.
I am an old soul.
I plant old things for young people.
I hope that one day, a new generation of old souls will plant new rose gardens, care for the Monarchs,, rescue the heirloom bulbs, feed the birds and live a life that is magical.